Wargaming, developer of World of Tanks, fired its in-house creative director without notice. He had previously commented positively on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Wargaming’s Creative Director Sergey Burkatovskiy has to look for a new job. In a Facebook post that has since been deleted, Burkatovskiy expressed his support for the deployment of the Russian Federation’s military, the DPR (Donetsk People’s Republic) and the LPR (Luhansk People’s Republic).
Wargaming didn’t find this funny at all, as the studio employs over 550 people in a branch in Kiev, and was quick to issue a statement after Burkatovskiy’s comments are a personal opinion that doesn’t align with the company’s position. The termination of the creative director came almost immediately afterwards.
Wargaming is also working on a revision of the advertising material for World of Tanks, after all ads have already been completely stopped worldwide. The main aim is to defuse the depiction of attacking tanks and military vehicles, which the studio considers inappropriate given the situation in Ukraine. At the same time, the Wargaming branch in Kiev donated $1 million to the Ukraine Red Cross.
Efforts are also being made to support employees in Ukraine in terms of providing alternative housing, early salary payments and additional funds to support travel and relocation to neighboring countries.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is hitting the game developer scene hard. The country has developed into an important location in recent years. Quite a few international publishers operate branches and studios there, including Ubisoft, Crytek and Wargaming. With GSC Game World (STALKER 2), Frogwares (Sherlock Holmes Chapter One) or Sengi Games, Ukraine also has a number of its own development studios.
Quite a few developers and publishers are currently donating to humanitarian organizations. The Polish developers of the anti-war game This War Of Mine are donating the entire proceeds of the game, which, by the way, has boosted the number of players. The Swedish Embracer Group, parent company of THQ Nordic and Koch Media, among others, donated one million dollars to humanitarian organizations.
There are plenty of new events around the holiday season in World of Tanks. Among other things, you can secure Arnold Schwarzenegger as commander.
